


I Promise

by ThereIsNoTragedyInThat



Series: 30 Days of Angst-Ironstrange Edition [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Boys In Love, Don't copy to another site, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 18:08:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20262307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThereIsNoTragedyInThat/pseuds/ThereIsNoTragedyInThat
Summary: "I'm going to make it right."Day 1: Grief





	I Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Link to the 30 Days of Angst Prompt list: https://birdiiielle.tumblr.com/post/178490486915/do-you-like-angst-do-you-like-monthly
> 
> Note: These will not be daily uploads just whenever inspiration strikes :)
> 
> Day 1: Grief

The sound of Tony’s car pulling up to the curb outside Stephen’s house was a familiar one. He was never so grateful for his mechanic boyfriend as he was at times like these, late at night when a rumbling engine could ruin everything. Stephen had been waiting by the window, backpack on and gaze intent for the past hour, willfully ignoring the silent house behind him.

For a split second as he pushed up the window and swung a leg outside, there was a pang of guilt. His father was gone, working late to avoid his wife and remaining children while downstairs his mother was passed out with a bottle of vodka in her lap. The guilt, shamefully enough, didn’t make him stay.

Stephen had made sure Victor would be at his friends out tonight and the thought of leaving his mother in her own vomit didn’t make freeze up like it used to. It was a sad bitter thing that made him want to leave her for his father to find.

His phone buzzed in his pocket and Stephen slipped out, foot easily finding the footholds in the cracked brick. The window closed with a tap and Stephen was climbing down the side as the cool night air kissed his skin. It was chilly, just beginning to turn fall but Stephen didn’t bother with a jacket, he wanted to feel everything tonight.

Stephen moved swiftly toward the car where he could see Tony leaning over the seat, watching the house behind him with the familiar disapproving tilt to his lips. It disappeared the moment Stephen opened the passenger door, however, being replaced with a smile.

No words were exchanged as Stephen settled into the seat and buckled his belt. Yet, as the car started and they made their escape, Tony reached across to grip Stephen’s hand tightly, the only anchor to hold him down on a night where it felt like every piece of him wanted slip out into the air.

Tony drove fast. He liked speed, though he had an eerie sense for where the cop cars were and had never once gotten a ticket. He’d only slowed down at Stephen’s insistence, but not tonight, speed felt necessary for where they needed to go.

“Stephen?”

He glanced over at Tony, but his boyfriend wasn’t looking at him, instead his eyes were fixed up high and when Stephen followed his gaze, his breath caught. It was late, nearly two am and they were far enough from the city to be hit with the full force of the night sky.

The stars glistened happily in the sky, numbering upwards of millions, not a cloud to hinder the view. The moon, full and bright, shone down on them creating an eerie beauty and its entirety made Stephen’s eyes sting.

“Open the windows,” he murmured.

Tony didn’t question, only lowered them. Stephen unbuckled his belt, ignoring the warning look and gripped the roof of the car and pulled himself out in one swift move until he was sitting on the edge. There was a sharp intake of breath and a warm hand clamped on his ankle, but Stephen paid it no mind.

Wind whipped past his face. The stretch of backroad was truly abandoned and as Stephen tilted his head back it felt as though he were in a different world, with the stars and trees and wind hugging him from all sides and carrying him away from his grief. It was only then that he let the tears fall, slipping from his cheeks and being flung into the cold night air.

The moment felt both as though it lasted forever and mere seconds.

A gentle tug guided him back into the car and Stephen went reluctantly, recognizing the turn they were coming to. His heart began to beat more painfully in his chest, the morose euphoria of only moments before, fleeing in the wake of what was to happen.

A hand drifted through his hair, soothing and Stephen turned into it thankfully.

Their car creeped up the driveway of a dark lakeside home, looking sad and decrepit in the late air, as though it too knew it was guilty of the horrors that happened here. Stephen didn’t move, even when the car stopped.

Tony didn’t say anything, simply got out of the car and rounded the front until he could tug open Stephen’s door and put out a hand. For a long second he stared at it, uncertain that he could do this, just like the year before, but then Tony was offering an encouraging smile and there was nothing to do but face the demons waiting on the water’s edge.

Hand in hand, Stephen and Tony made their way across the damp grass and toward the back of the house. There were no concerns about interrupting neighbors, everyone having abandoned their lakeside homes at winter’s swift approach.

Stephen’s eyes locked onto the dock stretched out across the still water, deceptive in its peace. When they reached the edge, where grass met wood, Stephen slowed, only to be tugged forward by Tony. He was never so grateful for his boyfriend as he was in moments like these and he simply closed his eyes and let himself be guided.

The dock creaked as they walked, and Stephen couldn’t stop the tears that slipped out beneath the lids. Soon enough they stopped and a pressure on his shoulders told him to sit. Stephen did, legs crossed and still until he felt Tony’s familiar warmth behind him, legs bracketing his body.

Stephen let himself be tugged back until they were close together. A hand came up to tilt Stephen’s head back against a firm shoulder and warm breath ghosted across his ear, “open your eyes Stephen.”

He did, following the command blindly, trusting Tony to know what he needed. Where he expected pain and memories of blue skin and blank eyes, all he found was peace. It was a lake and a shining sky and a silent night. A home to horror and a home to stillness.

They sat there for a long time. It was cold and Stephen curled into Tony’s embrace with a sigh. His tears came slowly but his heart, though it ached, didn’t feel quite so heavy as he expected, as it had the year before.

Tony’s hands moved over him, constantly soothing. Eventually, after they’d both grown sore and lethargic from the late night, Tony spoke, “this isn’t such a bad place, right? I think she must be happy here.”

Stephen smiled a little, staring out at the far shore, “yeah, I think so,” he squeezed Tony’s arm. “Do you think I can have a minute? We can spend the rest of the night in the house then.”

He could sense Tony’s hesitance, understood why. Six months after his sister’s death, Stephen had disappeared, and only Tony had known where to find him. He had raced over to the lake house and had almost been too late. Stephen was drunk and in his grief, he’d gone into the lake, not caring whether he survived or not, wanting to be with his sister and pay for his mistake. Tony had dragged him from the water and spent the night making sure he was alright.

Stephen had never thanked him for that, or for not telling his parents.

“I’ll be ok,” he murmured.

Tony sighed, pressed a kiss to his temple and stood, taking the warmth with him.

Stephen waited until Tony had reached the end of the dock before leaning forward carefully. He reached a hand down until the tips of his fingers slipped past the surface of the calm chilly water. Taking a steadying breath, Stephen smiled down at his reflection.

“Donna,” he whispered. “I want you to know…I’m so fucking sorry I couldn’t save you. I wish it had been me, mom and dad wouldn’t be like this if it was me…you were always special, and I hate it everyday that you aren’t here and that its my fault.”

He took a steadying breath, ignored the tears causing ripples over his reflection, “But I’m going to make it right ok? I’m going to be a doctor. You used to say I was smart enough to be whatever I wanted and well…I won’t let anything like this ever happen again, I’m going to make it up to you, I’m going to make you proud ok?”

Stephen let his hand slip in a little further, as though to prove his conviction. He was startled from the moment by Tony’s shaky voice, his uncertainty coming from only a few feet away. Looking up, he was met with watery brown eyes, no doubt a reflection of his own, and a hand reached out toward him.

A lifeline.

Tony always was the one good thing in the hell his life had become.

Stephen reached up and grasped his hand, let himself be pulled back from the edge of the dock and into a firm embrace. For the first time in a long time, with the conviction of a future and man who loved him at his side, Stephen thought there was a chance, just a small one, that he might be ok.

**Author's Note:**

> I know she died in a swimming pool and I know Victor only existed on Earth 616, I changed somethings because I couldn't get this imagery out of my head, hope everyone enjoyed!


End file.
